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Just curious, is there some sort of special license or permission required to get access to computing resources like these in Iran, like there is with the Chine

Just curious, is there some sort of special license or permission required to get access to computing resources like these in Iran, like there is with the Chinese website license number thing? I have thought about trying to run a VPN server on my EC2 web server for my friends in Iran but not sure if regular VPN protocols are even allowed through. I don't think they know what Tor is much less how to set it up with a custom bridge. They seem to be using some kind of proxy/bridge for Telegram, but didn't know the technical English vocab to tell me exactly what it was. Ironically, I once talked to someone very pro-regime on HelloTalk and asked them why they were using Telegram if it was blocked/illegal there, since they would defend the regime on anything else you asked them about. They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites. Is this a narrative they are pushing on state media there?

zer0x4d 4y ago
I moved out of Iran about 10 years ago, but when I was there you couldn't purchase internet plans faster than 128kbps unless you had a legitimate reason such as being a reporter, business, etc. There was, however, no special license needed for any computing equipment. I purchased very cheap VPS and other resources without even having to submit any personal info. Nowadays, the limit is gone and there is faster internet access but the issue of filtering still exists. When a service doesn't work in Iran it's either due to sanctions, the government blocking access to some domain/ip, or a combination of both. The user is left wondering which one it is and how they can get around it
Gasp0de 4y ago
Using Tor Browser should be very simple, if they know how to operate a web browser they should be able to use Tor Browser. They literally start the program, there is a window that asks if they want to use a direct connection or bridge. They click bridge, enter a bridge and are connected like a normal browser.
lutoma 4y ago
You don't actually need the license for computing resources in China, it's "only" necessary when you're hosting public-facing web pages specifically
Siira 4y ago
> Is this a narrative they are pushing on state media there? I don't believe so. In general, assholes who get their money from the government, create their own fake news which is even faker than what is published in the state media. Which makes sense, as the state media optimizes for everyone watching it, not just the bootlickers. > regular VPN protocols Naive, Hysteria, Trojan, VLESS, etc. seem to work. Of course, foreign servers are, at times like this, only accessible in datacenters, which means the protocol would be irrelevant.
miracle2k 4y ago
> They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites. This narrative is probably helped by the fact that half the internet is being blocked on the US side because of sanctions - i.e. the entirety of Google Cloud.
aljgz 4y ago
> is there some sort of special license or permission required to get access to computing resources Mostly not. Censorship works by elimination, not by requiring initial permission. The main exception is internet access to blocked services. Government supporters get access to services that are otherwise blocked to the public. > They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites The government and their supporters are bad liers. By bad, I mean they don't even try to make it convincing. The president told a foreign journalist that covering is optional in Iran. That is while their "morality police" has killed a woman and the whole country is burning in riots. This is while that same journalist is wearing scarf to be allowed to talk to the president, in US!

zer0x4d 4y ago

I moved out of Iran about 10 years ago, but when I was there you couldn't purchase internet plans faster than 128kbps unless you had a legitimate reason such as being a reporter, business, etc. There was, however, no special license needed for any computing equipment. I purchased very cheap VPS and other resources without even having to submit any personal info. Nowadays, the limit is gone and there is faster internet access but the issue of filtering still exists. When a service doesn't work in Iran it's either due to sanctions, the government blocking access to some domain/ip, or a combination of both. The user is left wondering which one it is and how they can get around it

Gasp0de 4y ago

Using Tor Browser should be very simple, if they know how to operate a web browser they should be able to use Tor Browser. They literally start the program, there is a window that asks if they want to use a direct connection or bridge. They click bridge, enter a bridge and are connected like a normal browser.

lutoma 4y ago

You don't actually need the license for computing resources in China, it's "only" necessary when you're hosting public-facing web pages specifically

Siira 4y ago

> Is this a narrative they are pushing on state media there? I don't believe so. In general, assholes who get their money from the government, create their own fake news which is even faker than what is published in the state media. Which makes sense, as the state media optimizes for everyone watching it, not just the bootlickers. > regular VPN protocols Naive, Hysteria, Trojan, VLESS, etc. seem to work. Of course, foreign servers are, at times like this, only accessible in datacenters, which means the protocol would be irrelevant.

miracle2k 4y ago

> They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites. This narrative is probably helped by the fact that half the internet is being blocked on the US side because of sanctions - i.e. the entirety of Google Cloud.

aljgz 4y ago

> is there some sort of special license or permission required to get access to computing resources Mostly not. Censorship works by elimination, not by requiring initial permission. The main exception is internet access to blocked services. Government supporters get access to services that are otherwise blocked to the public. > They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites The government and their supporters are bad liers. By bad, I mean they don't even try to make it convincing. The president told a foreign journalist that covering is optional in Iran. That is while their "morality police" has killed a woman and the whole country is burning in riots. This is while that same journalist is wearing scarf to be allowed to talk to the president, in US!